[Cross-Strait] China Again Uses Pretext to Harass, Conducting "Marine Environmental Survey" in Waters East of Taiwan
bellala 央廣3h ago
Following its so-called "special maritime traffic law enforcement and sweeping operation" in the waters east of Taiwan, China today (18th) again claimed that "to comprehensively understand the natural ecological conditions of China's jurisdictional waters," it conducted a marine environmental survey in the waters east of Taiwan from the 16th to the 18th.
After a summit on May 28th, Japan and the Philippines issued a joint statement announcing the launch of negotiations on the boundaries of their exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and continental shelves. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed opposition, asserting that China has EEZs and continental shelves in the waters east of Taiwan. Subsequently, on June 1st, the China Coast Guard dispatched the Daishan vessel fleet for "law enforcement patrols" in the waters east of Taiwan, and later sent multiple vessels to harass the waters east of Taiwan and Japan's EEZ.
Regarding Chinese official vessels using the Japan-Philippines negotiations as a pretext to harass the waters east of Taiwan with coast guard and maritime vessels, the Coast Guard Administration had previously stated that it had deployed vessels in advance for full-course parallel navigation monitoring.
Following the recent harassment actions, China's Ministry of Natural Resources announced on its official website today that "to comprehensively understand the natural ecological conditions of our country's jurisdictional waters and to support marine ecological protection, from June 16th to 18th, the East China Sea Bureau of the Ministry of Natural Resources' vessel 'Xiangyanghong 22' conducted a marine environmental survey in the waters east of Taiwan Island."
China's Ministry of Natural Resources claimed that "this survey adopted multi-disciplinary synchronous survey methods, collecting data on seawater environmental DNA, birds, cetaceans, marine chemistry, and hydrometeorology. This lays the foundation for China to further grasp the conditions of key habitats in this sea area and conduct evaluations of ecosystem health, and also provides a scientific basis for carrying out marine biodiversity protection in this sea area."
Xinhua News Agency previously reported that from June 6th to 10th, China's Ministry of Transport, in conjunction with the Fujian Maritime Safety Administration, Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration, East China Navigation Support Center, and East China Rescue Bureau, jointly carried out a "Special Maritime Traffic Law Enforcement and Sweeping Operation in the Waters East of Taiwan Island," conducting maritime patrol law enforcement and sweeping key sea areas such as east of Taiwan Island.
The report claimed that "this is a necessary action taken in response to Japan and the Philippines unilaterally announcing the launch of 'maritime boundary negotiations' east of Taiwan Island, which seriously infringes upon China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests."
In response to China's harassment actions, the Mainland Affairs Council had previously emphasized that Taiwan will continue to consult with Japan and the Philippines on maritime issues and does not need the CCP to interfere. (Editor: Shen Zhen-jiang)
Source Link: https://www.rti.org.tw/news?uid=3&pid=215395
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